Ana Patricia Peralta de la Peña, mayor of Benito Juárez (Cancún), Quintana Roo, announced the dismissal of Alejandro Ariel Peña, who served as director of the Auxiliary Police of the municipality.
The decision was made after the official was caught on video in which, apparently in a state of intoxication, he threatened to kill reporter Raymundo Gómez. This incident occurred outside a bar in Cancún, where Peña refused to pay the bill, as reported by the journalist himself on his Facebook page, Inspector Nocturno.
The video, which quickly went viral on social media, shows Alejandro Ariel Peña dressed in civilian clothes, staggering and aggressively approaching Gómez, to whom he said “I’m going to kill you.” At that moment, a municipal police officer intervened to arrest the official. After the altercation, Peña was taken to the Cancún detention center, although he was released shortly after paying a bail of more than four thousand pesos.
Raymundo Gómez, the journalist affected, filed a criminal complaint with the Quintana Roo Prosecutor’s Office for the threats received. This event generated a quick reaction from the mayor, who on Thursday morning, after the video was released, announced Peña’s dismissal.
“I have given instructions since dawn to proceed with the corresponding dismissal according to law of the Director of the Auxiliary Police,” said Peralta de la Peña, stressing that the official’s behavior was not aligned with the institution’s principles of serving and protecting citizens.
Alejandro Ariel Peña had joined the Cancún government in 2019 as a bodyguard and was promoted to director of the Auxiliary Police during the administration of Ana Patricia de la Peña, predecessor of the current governor Mara Lezama. This incident highlights the tensions and challenges faced by the local administration in its effort to maintain integrity and trust in the municipality’s security forces.
Former official Alejandro Ariel Peña was drunk when he threatened journalist Raymundo Gómez
Violence against journalists in Mexico
The murder of Mauricio Cruz Solís, which occurred on October 29, 2024 in Uruapan, Michoacán, adds to a worrying list of attacks against journalists in Mexico. Since 2000, the ARTICLE 19 organization has recorded 168 murders of journalists in the country, all of them possibly related to their journalistic work.
The state of Veracruz stands out as the most dangerous for journalists, accumulating 31 murders since the beginning of the century. During the mandate of Javier Duarte, which extended from December 2010 to November 2016, 18 of these homicides were recorded, including that of photojournalist Rubén Espinosa.
During the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ARTICLE 19 recorded 47 murders of journalists. This figure matches that recorded during the administration of her predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto. In contrast, Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has reported only one case to date.
Source: infobae
